Shoppers rated Publix as the second-best grocery chain in the nation and rated Wal-Mart as the worst, according to a satisfaction study by Consumer Reports.

Chains were judged in more than a dozen categories ranging from price, to service, to food quality.

Customers gave Florida-based Publix the highest-possible rating in five of those categories, including bakery products and store-prepared food. Its only below-average rating was for the number of local products it carries.

The Fresh Market ranked No. 9 overall and was one of only three chains in the nation that got the top score for meat and produce. Whole Foods was another at No. 15.

Wal-Mart Supercenters tied for last among the 68 chains alongside A&P and Waldbaum's. Customers gave Wal-Mart the worst possible rating across six categories, including service and cleanliness. It scored above average for price.

Wal-Mart was the primary grocery destination for 10 percent of the more than 60,000 customers in the survey.

The ratings came as Wal-Mart renewed a push to give customers a better experience and fresher products while it rolls out its smaller, grocery-focused Neighborhood Markets across the nation.

"We want this year to be the year of improving our stores," Wal-Mart U.S. CEO Greg Foran told investors on Wednesday.

Wal-Mart and Publix will soon go head-to-head at one east Montgomery intersection. Wal-Mart plans to build a Neighborhood Market at Vaughn and Taylor roads, across the intersection from a busy Publix.

It was the first time in the 10-year-old survey that

Consumer Reports

has asked its readers to rate things like the selection of local produce and the price of organics, alongside traditional categories like price and service.

In the end, the new categories had little effect on the top and bottom of the list. Wegmans remained near the top as it has since 2005, and Wal-Mart Supercenter remained near the bottom.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Where they ranked

Publix: No. 2 with an overall rating of 88

Costco: No. 6 with an overall rating of 84Fresh Market: No. 9 with an overall rating of 83